


Freedom

by velveteenvamp



Category: Victorious (TV)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Complicated Relationships, F/M, Gen, Jade is v broken, Jade just deserves to be happy, Prison, There will be multiple pairings later, Wrongful Imprisonment, it will get happier
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:34:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23027128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/velveteenvamp/pseuds/velveteenvamp
Summary: Six years ago, Jade was sent to prison for a crime she didn't commit. A lot has changed in that time and now that she's a free woman, what will she do?Tags and warnings will change as the story progresses! There will be some heavier themes introduced so be warned!
Relationships: Beck Oliver/Jade West
Comments: 7
Kudos: 40





	1. Chapter 1

Jade West had felt a lot of emotions when she had been wrongly incarcerated six years ago. Rage, sadness... but most bitterly of all, she had felt a profound sense of disappointment. The system had failed her, so had her parents (no surprises there), but worst of all, her friends did, too. _That_ had been the shittiest thing about the situation. 

Just like with everything else that had been thrown at her in life, she had managed to survive. A three-day stay at the infirmary after being slashed above the eyebrow and given a brutal black eye had made her quickly realise that the best thing she could do was to shut up. So that was what she did: she didn't speak unless she was spoken to and she spent most of her allotted free time in the arts and crafts room. 

After a while, Jade had gained a reputation as one of the most creative inmates. She sold the macabre artworks she created, worked on scripts and would showcase her voice when given the opportunity. Eventually, she had even formed some makeshift friendships with inmates who wanted her to teach them how to draw. 

As was customary, Jade also saw a therapist each week. Though she had initially been defensive and barely said a word in the first session, Jade later opened up and to her surprise, it helped. Each week, she'd talk to the therapist about her insecurities, all of the disappointments life had dished out to her and how she couldn't even remember the last time she had felt OK. Just offloading onto someone who didn't judge was a help within itself, but the therapist had also given her new activities to try and had helped her realise that maybe she wasn't such a fuckup after all. 

* * *

For every bit of progress Jade had made in prison, she still laid awake in her cell every night wondering why everybody had abandoned her. The therapist had suggested that perhaps her friends found it difficult to see her behind bars, but Jade wasn't convinced. No, she was _certain_ that no one came to see her because they believed that she was guilty. After all, Jade had always been volatile and aggressive, it probably wasn't much of a stretch to think that she really could be capable of murder.

Cat... she understood, Cat found everything difficult and Jade wasn't sure she even wanted Cat to be in such a hostile environment ~~\--~~ she was too innocent for that. At least Cat had the decency to send her letters every once in a while, they rarely made sense, but it didn't matter, Jade just appreciated the thought more than anything. As for Robbie, well, he would have probably fainted at the sight of a prison. Andre, though? That hurt. Jade had always thought a lot of Andre, respecting his talent and how he was friendly without being annoyingly insipid about it. Though, she supposed that he was probably some super-famous producer hitting the big time now. 

Did she blame Tori for not visiting her? No, she knew that she had done nothing to deserve it. But, God, she even missed _her_. Tori would have never been wrongly sent to prison and even if she had, she would have been out in the blink of an eye because _everybody_ gave a shit about her. 

The worst thing was how _Beck_ had abandoned her. Of all the people she had expected it from, he hadn't been on the list. Beck was the only person that Jade had ever implicitly trusted with absolutely everything. The fact that he couldn't even spare a lousy visit killed her inside. After nearly a year of radio silence, Jade had written him a letter telling him that they were over (not that he seemed to care) and she had sarcastically thanked him for his lack of support. The letter had been marred with small stains from her tears but she wasn't going to waste another stamp on him. 

* * *

One day, everything changed. Jade was informed that she was going to be released and that it was going to happen very soon. Her case had been reexamined and it had been ruled that there was no evidence that pointed to her doing anything wrong. Apparently, a cousin of hers had been pulling some strings to fast-track a parole hearing and then a whole avalanche of dirt had been unleashed. Jade's case had been riddled with corruption and lies from the very beginning and now that the judge who had put her away had been accused of accepting bribes, the tables had turned. For once, Jade was grateful that she was a West ~~\--~~ her family had enough money to ensure that she got a hefty compensation settlement. She doubted that her parents had helped because they _actually_ cared, it was more like it gave them good publicity. But, it didn't matter, she was about to be a free woman and finally start living again. 


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a little under two weeks since Jade's highly publicised release and she was still trying to come to terms with her new definition of normal. Being outside still felt surreal, fresh air, clothes that weren't luminous orange, decent coffee and a comfortable bed were particular highlights, but all of it felt so damn _good_. 

One of the first things that she had done upon release was update her look. Prison had done its best to strip her of her individuality, but she was clawing it back bit by bit. She had put a mixture of white, blue and pink streaks in her black curls, inserted her beloved piercings back in and decked her wardrobe out with all-black. The distantly-acquired scar above her left eyebrow made her look more badass, she had decided; a visual testament to all she had survived. Jade had also got herself some new tattoos, ones that she had been planning for years ~~\--~~ the ink decorated her pale skin and was so quintessentially _her_ with their dark themes and strangeness. 

Being inside had physically toughened her up, too. When she wasn't doing arts and crafts, Jade would let off steam through exercise. As a result, she was rocking some serious definition in her biceps, something that only added to her overall toughness. If people thought that she was scary pre-prison, they hadn't seen _anything_ yet. 

* * *

Most of Jade's time had been taken up by getting her new apartment in order. She had purchased a penthouse in the city, but she immediately decided that it needed her stamp on it. The white walls were now nearly all replaced with black damask wallpaper and she was working on finding weird and wonderful additions. Jade had learned that her parents had sold the majority of the belongings she used to own, so she was largely working from scratch. It was poetic in a fucked up sort of way: a clean slate. 

Something that she had learned was that she couldn't stand to be penned in. Even just going outside onto the roof terrace for a smoke was better than nothing, but what Jade really liked was going _out_. A few blocks down from her apartment was a small, independent coffee shop. Jade had quickly become a regular and had made a routine out of getting a large black coffee with two sugars before going about her day. 

Jade was still on the hunt for some new items so she had decided to make a coffee run first. It was simply a fact that she couldn't function properly without a combination of caffeine and nicotine in her bloodstream. After making her usual order, Jade waited and pretended to show interest in all the sickly baked goods on display. 

With the steady stream of chatter and the whirring of the barista machine, Jade hadn't even noticed the tinkle of the door opening as she collected her drink. That was why it came as all the more of a shock when she suddenly felt someone collide into her and as quickly as it happened, she was now wearing her coffee. Throwing her hands up in frustration, Jade was about to chew out the klutz when she suddenly froze. 

"Jade, is that you?" came a familiarly peppy voice belonging to none other than Tori Vega. 


	3. Chapter 3

For once, Jade was at a loss for words. More than ever, she was certain that the universe really _did_ have it out for her. Scrambling for the napkins, Jade began fruitlessly scrubbing at her soaked top. 

"I didn't know that you were out." Tori prompted, her tone laced with caution. 

That very tone had earned her a steely glare. "Yeah, I'm back. _Surprise_." Jade dryly told her. "Why, do you think I shouldn't be out?" 

Then Tori's eyes widened and her fear was palpable. "Oh, no, of course not. I'm just surprised that you came back here after every-" 

" _I'm_ not the one who has anything to feel bad about." Jade suddenly cut her off before signalling for another coffee. Whipping her head around, Jade scowled when she felt a hand on her chest. Tori was trying to get the coffee out of her shirt. 

"I'm _so_ sorry about the coffee, I was running late and I wasn't looking where I was going." 

Jade just rolled her eyes. It had been so long since she had last seen anyone from Hollywood Arts _or_ had friendly physical contact, maybe that was why she didn't snap at Tori for touching her. God, was she really so desperate that she'd even tolerate _Tori_? Apparently so, because she didn't find herself being disappointed when she heard Tori on the phone cancelling something because, in her words, she had bumped into an old friend. 

* * *

Seated on the beat-up sofa at the back of the venue, Jade realised that her morning plans had rapidly changed. Tori kept going on and on about how sorry she was about everything, but Jade remained mostly silent. Part of her appreciated the grovelling, but deep down, she knew that it was unfair because she had never really resented Tori. "Tori, stop." Jade suddenly told her, raising a decorated hand. "I don't blame you." she elaborated before sipping her fresh coffee, her eyes never leaving Tori's. 

"Wait, you... you don't?"

Jade shook her head. "No. It's not like you owed me anything." 

There was silence on Tori's end for a few seconds, but she spoke up again. "But I should have seen how you were doing. I was just so busy working on my career and I didn't think you'd want to see me. I figured that you'd have Beck-"

" _Beck_?" Jade spat, the hurt flashing in her icy blue eyes. "Oh, you mean my loving boyfriend who ghosted me as soon as I was behind bars?"

Tori's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "He did _what_? We haven't spoken that much but he didn't say anything about the two of you." 

"Ask him yourself. Go ahead and ask him when the last time he saw me was." 


	4. Chapter 4

Tori's stomach dropped at the bombshell that was Beck's complete lack of support. Then a horrific thought crossed her mind; _had Jade had any visitors whatsoever?_ If Tori had thought for one minute that no one came to see her, she would have been there whether Jade wanted her to be or not. 

"Jade... did anyone visit you?" Tori softly asked her, afraid of what the answer would be. 

Then Jade gave her _that_ look. "What do you think?" was her response--confirming what Tori had just been pondering, much to her dismay. 

"I am _so_ sorry. I can't believe they'd do that, especially Beck." 

"I can, because that's what _exactly_ what happened. Beck thinks I'm guilty." 

Tori's chocolaty eyes turned as wide as dinner plates and her blood ran cold. If she hadn't already been furious with Beck... oh, she was _beyond_ it now. It was only the noise of Jade collecting her bag that snapped her out of her fixated rage. 

"I'm leaving now," Jade informed her. "I need to decorate my apartment." she added before suddenly scribbling something down on a napkin and handing it over. "Here's my number." 

* * *

Even after Jade left, Tori remained for several minutes, trying to process everything. For the life of her, she just couldn't rationalise Beck's actions. As far as she was concerned, what he had done (or rather, what he _hadn't_ done) was utterly inexcusable. 

After going home, Tori had barely even waited for her apartment door to close before she furiously started calling Beck. 

"Hey, Tori." Beck casually greeted her on the other end, unaware of the shitstorm that was about to hit. Frankly, it sickened her that Beck had remained as calm and collected as ever even throughout Jade's tenure in prison. While she had been suffering and _alone_ at that, he had been drifting through life like he always did, letting his good looks take him everywhere and anywhere.

"Don't hey Tori me!" Tori found herself spitting out. "You'll never guess who I ran into today. _Jade_." 

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds and when he finally found the balls to speak up, his tone was soft and Tori was sure she had heard him mutter an expletive. "How was she?" came his cautious response.

"Betrayed. I can't believe you never visited her, Beck. Of all the people who should have... _and_ you think she's guilty-"

"What? No. Why would I think she's guilty? I know she didn't murder that guy." Beck quickly interjected, clearly disturbed by the accusation. 

"Then why didn't you visit her? I didn't because I didn't think she'd want to see me and I figured she had everyone else, but she didn't. Jade didn't have anyone." 

On the other end, Beck exhaled and Tori could practically hear him rubbing his temples. "I didn't visit her because it was too painful. God, seeing her at the trial killed me," Beck lamented, "do you know how hard it was for me to see her like that? Seeing her looking so defeated scared me." he paused before continuing. "And I know it isn't an excuse, I fucked up. But the more time went by, the more I talked myself out of trying to make things right. I didn't want to make it even harder for her. But I've always known she was, _is_ innocent." 

Contemplating his words, Tori considered them for several seconds. He wasn't wrong about fucking up, that was for sure. In a way, though, she understood his angle; Beck wasn't one to open up about his feelings and she knew that beneath that seemingly unflappable exterior was a whirlwind of turbulence. "She's out now, here's your chance to make it right." was what she eventually told him. " _Don't_ screw this up, Beck."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! This is an idea I've been toying with for a few days (watching Locked Up and seeing Jade in an orange jumpsuit really kickstarted the whole thing) and I've decided to just go ahead with it. I'm not American and I don't know a whole lot about the prison system in general, so please apply a bit of suspension of belief if it's not wholly accurate. I understand that wrongful convictions aren't usually so easily quashed either, but this is ultimately a story that's going to be about emotions so hopefully you can overlook any erroneous stuff.


End file.
